What we won’t do in the name of charity, eh? My effort for Comic Relief was to abseil down the centre of our building – had I raised enough money, I was going to do it I drag, but unfortunately (for the starving children, fortunately for me) my overall fundraising didn’t quite hit that target. Still, I raised several hundred pounds for a good cause and got to do something memorable in the process.

Our CEO and his number two came down earlier in the day, dressed as Batman and Robin. Against a backdrop like that, it was hard to make too much of a fool out of myself.

Our leadership team, dressed as Batman and Robin, abseil down the atrium of our office

Now they’re getting into the swing of things…

It’s a long way down. That’s one of our modern art installations hanging in the centre of the atrium.

Glass walkways cross over the atrium and connect the East and West wings of our building

Having done a fair amount of rock climbing when I was in school, I was pretty relaxed about the whole process, and it all went flawlessly (aside from the guy at the top setting up my ropes for a left-handed person!) But two of our secretaries had never done anything like this before and were very scared about the whole thing, no doubt not helped by my comments about plunging headlong into our lobby and becoming the next piece of Damien Hirst installation art.

Spectators come out to cheers us on!

After a few cases of the nerves at the top of the platform, two of our secretaries finally make it over the edge…

Kate, looking particularly pleased with herself!

They’ve made it as far as the 6th floor…

A rather undignified ending for both of them, as they land flat on their arses…

Aude was concerned on my behalf – she spent most of last night convincing herself that the ropes would fail or that I would somehow otherwise end up in a big, bloody mess at the bottom of the rope. I decided to wear brown trousers, just in case the worst should happen. I’m working on a bid right now for a company that arranges and conducts funerals – I figured they would probably give us a discount as a professional courtesy.

It’s Matthew’s turn to head over the edge. It feels a lot higher up from here! (Please note brown trousers, just in case it all goes horribly wrong!)

A quick stop at the 8th floor to pose for a photo…

Passing the 5th floor on my way to the bottom…

A gentle and rather more dignified landing, upright and standing on both feet!

In the end, it was a piece of cake and was all over in a matter of seconds. A great way to spend a Friday afternoon!

Woke up today to another beautiful March morning, a slight frost on the ground but predicted highs of 17C later today. The café at the train station has started to stock Cadbury’s Crème Eggs, a sure sign that spring can’t be far away now. We’ve actually had a very mild winter, so as nice as it is to have spring on our doorstep, it doesn’t feel like the long-awaited relief that it does in some years.

My week at work seems to be flying by. We’re busy pulling together all the write-ups from my client who prints money, and even I am surprised by how much we accomplished in such a short time. Two of my junior guys have been locked in a project room for three days straight cranking out the slides – I’m giving them the final review this morning, which should be a welcome relief. I’m sure they’re keep to put this to bed. I’ll go out to the client to present the findings later this week (hurrah – a day where most of my time will be spent on trains).

Wedding plans are continuing apace. As I wrote on my other blog (the one on our wedding website), the heavens seem to have aligned. After weeks of chasing various ‘Letters of Freedom’ from various Catholic parishes around the world, my prayers were (literally and figuratively) answered all at once, when all the parishes concerned emailed me on the same day (and within hours of one another) to tell me that they would be sending the required Letters in the next 24 hours. So we’ve managed to navigate the tricky intricacies of the Catholic Church’s bureaucracy. I’m not convinced that the French bureaucracy will be quite so straightforward.

In other news, Dara is coming to visit for the weekend. It will be a good chance to catch up with an old friend, and knowing Dara, quite literally swapping war stories. (For those of you who don’t know Dara, she spends most of her life moving from one war-torn country to another – currently living in Afghanistan). We were going to meet in London, but I’ve managed to lure her down to Canterbury with the promise of cooking a traditional Sunday roast.

Recent evidence emerges indicating that my cats’ weight problems began with an unhealthy relationship with food developed early in life…

Spring is definitely on the doorstep. The sun was out and the birds were singing as I waited for my normal train, a real change from waiting in the dark as I have been all winter.

The only shame is that we start summer time soon – and I’ll lose my hour of morning sunshine for another couple of weeks at least!

Good hotel design is becoming more affordable, and it’s about time. As someone who spends more than their fair share of time living out of a suitcase, finding an affordable hotel (eg, within expense account limits) with a boutique feel is a nice change from the carbon-copy hotels that exist across the country.

This week I faced a conundrum. My client was in Basingstoke, about 45 minutes from central London by train. Basingstoke, for those who don’t know it, is a relatively industrial town with lots of mid-tier companies calling it their home. Consequently, there are quite a few business travellers spending the night on any given day.

There are two major chain hotels in Basingstoke – a Hilton and a Holiday Inn. Both wanted over £150 per night for a room, and according to most of the web reports I could find, both were absolute dumps – 1960s motels which had been franchised in the 80s, with little improvement since then. Anecdotal reports from my client confirmed my suspicions: I knew exactly what to expect before I’d even set foot inside the door.
I’ve stayed in hotels like these across the world.

By chance, we’d had a management team away day the previous week, held at the new Park Plaza hotel just opposite Parliament and right on the river. We’d selected the hotel because they’d offered us a good conference rate, and the hotel itself was lovely.

A cunning Plan B emerged. Stay at the Park Plaza, just beside Waterloo, and catch the train each morning. Room rates at this 4-star hotel were only £119 per night. The rooms are all very modern, spotlessly clean, and very well designed with all the toys. I had a mini bar, flat-screen TV, DVD player, and a river view to top it all off. There was a great cocktail bar downstairs and a Latin-Japanese fusion restaurant off the lobby. They served sushi from a Nobu-trained chef.

Is it the greatest hotel I’ve ever stayed in? No. Customer service could use a little work, and the location isn’t the most convenient for public transportation. But for £119 per night in Central London, it must represent one of the biggest bargains around. And a welcome change for a weary business traveller.

Park Plaza Riverbank

Park Plaza Riverbank

Park Plaza Riverbank

Park Plaza Riverbank

The restaurant in the Park Plaza Riverbank

A working man’s dinner — a gin & tonic and a few bar snacks

My light reading for the evening. After a gin & tonic or two, “SPIN” selling takes on a whole new meaning. It literally spins.